It is cool to see all the art from the different areas. But it is kind of pricey as I recall and a bit of a drive from Waikiki. If you are going to the North shore anyway, yes you should stop. If not you might just want to relax and drink some Mai Tais. Or ask Phillip Roberts (here on TC) for a walking tour. Bailey's has some great aloha shirts and Gecko's studio is there. He takes appointments to look at his art and mugs.

We found a 2-for-1 coupon in one of the tourist books that included no tour guide or meal or anything, which was the only way to do it affordably, allowed us to walk around & see it, etc. minimizing the concerns we had with where the $$ was going.

It was nicely done, overall & worthwhile if you can find one of the inexpensive admission-only 1-for-1 deals.

Otherwise, just drive by & take pictures of the nicely carved tikis outside & stop for a bathroom break at the polynesian-style McDonald's at the corner of the property

I went about 10 years ago and really enjoyed it. Got to participate in a traditional Marquesan pig hunt, I think I was the pig I think they are doing a good thing by teaching cultural traditions to Polynesian college students who would otherwise never learn them. It seems like they are trying to keep authenic traditions alive.

Money has no value on vacation anyway, if you avoided everything that cost more than it was worth, you would just stay home

PS - it is a bit of a drive from Honolulu, but the east coast of Oahu is a beautiful drive.

_________________
Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House

Thanks Luna, John, Hibiscus, MDM & Dagg for your feedback. I guess the PCC will go on the "maybe" list. If it wasn't 1 hr + from the Waikiki area I'd be there in a heartbeat but I'm not sure if we'll have the time so I guess we'll see. The hubby isn't as obsessed with all things tiki as I am so I don't want to insist we go if it's not worth the effort. As for the $$$ I'm fully expecting everything to be outrageous so I won't be surprised. Thanks for the 2-for-1 tip, that might push me, I do love a good bargain.

Your point about tiki in Hawaii John is well made but I'm still smarting about my trip this fall to San Fran and I DIDN'T get to any of the SF tiki places mostly due to delays from Hurricane Sandy although I DID get to Forbidden Island and TV Emeryville which was a newbie's dream come true! NJ is pretty much devoid of all things tiki so I live in fear of missing out on any tiki opportunity....

I found this pic online of the inside of the PCC. The mural is very impressive. This is from the blog of the artist, Sean Sullivan. He also designed the cool light sconces.
The tapa pattern table tops are neat too.
http://ksean.com/blog/?p=737

On 2013-01-26 17:02, LoriLovesTiki wrote:And GROG, I'll also be visiting Kauaii, Maui and the Big Island (both Hilo and the other side, port name escapes me at the moment) so if you have an must do suggestions I'd love to hear them!